Molla Amsalu Misgie, Fentahun Tewodros, Jemberu Wudu T
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekidela Amba University, Tulu Awulia, Ethiopia.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Jun 16;8:673442. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.673442. eCollection 2021.
Epizootic lymphangitis (EL) is a chronic, contagious, fungal disease of equids. The disease is highly prevalent in cart pulling equines of Ethiopia affecting the livelihood of the cart owning households and welfare of the cart animals. This study estimated the economic impacts of EL and assessed cart owners' knowledge and practices related to the disease in northwest Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling approach was implemented to select cart animal owners for the study. A total of 274 cart animal owners were interviewed to collect data for the study. The average annual economic loss per cart owner was estimated at Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 8447. Of this loss, the ETB 4364, 2838, and 1245 were due to mortality, working power loss, and treatment costs, respectively. When the loss was computed only for affected car owners, it was on average ETB 9835 per affected cart owner. The average annual animal level loss was estimated at ETB 6587 per cart animal. Mortality was the largest contributor of the overall economic losses. There was a statistically significant difference in average economic losses per household between study towns ( < 0.05). The knowledge and practice study revealed that 51.2% of the respondents had good knowledge level (knowledge score above the mean score) of EL, but only 45.2% of the respondents had a good practice related to EL. A multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that socio-demographic factors such as educational level and town of residence were significantly associated with EL knowledge level of the respondents ( < 0.05), and on the other hand, knowledge level and residence of the respondents were significantly associated with EL practice level ( < 0.05). The study generally indicates that EL causes significant economic impact on the cart business, but cart owners had insufficient knowledge and poor control and preventive practices to combat the disease. Attention should be accorded to control the disease and reduce its impact on the livelihood of cart owners. As part of the control measure, more awareness creation about the disease and its preventive and management measures for cart owners will very important.
epizootic lymphangitis (EL)是马属动物的一种慢性、传染性真菌病。该病在埃塞俄比亚拉车的马匹中高度流行，影响着拥有马车家庭的生计以及拉车动物的健康。本研究估计了EL的经济影响，并评估了埃塞俄比亚西北部马车车主对该病的认知和做法。采用多阶段整群抽样方法选择参与研究的拉车动物主人。共对274名拉车动物主人进行了访谈以收集研究数据。每位马车车主的年均经济损失估计为8447埃塞俄比亚比尔。在这一损失中，4364埃塞俄比亚比尔、2838埃塞俄比亚比尔和1245埃塞俄比亚比尔分别是由于死亡、工作能力丧失和治疗费用造成的。仅计算受影响车主的损失时，每位受影响的马车车主平均损失为9835埃塞俄比亚比尔。每头拉车动物的年均损失估计为6587埃塞俄比亚比尔。死亡是总体经济损失的最大因素。各研究城镇每户的平均经济损失存在统计学显著差异（<0.05）。认知和做法研究表明，51.2%的受访者对EL有良好的认知水平（认知得分高于平均分），但只有45.2%的受访者对EL有良好的做法。多变量逻辑回归分析表明，教育水平和居住城镇等社会人口因素与受访者的EL认知水平显著相关（<0.05），另一方面受访者的认知水平和居住情况与EL做法水平显著相关（<0.05）。该研究总体表明，EL对马车业务造成了重大经济影响，但马车车主对抗击该病的知识不足，控制和预防做法不佳。应重视控制该病并减少其对马车车主生计的影响。作为控制措施的一部分，提高马车车主对该病及其预防和管理措施的认识将非常重要。
